Model SHAMED For Hairy Armpits on ANTM 

Fatima said "I DON'T" shave- not "I didn't shave". There's a hell of a difference. If she doesn't shave at all, then arriving unshaved isn't like forgetting to dye her roots or wash her face- it's her personal choice. Telling her she wasn't taking care of herself was disgusting.

Fatima is possibly the most beautiful model to ever go on this show. If her not shaving was an issue for the photographer, he would have said something during the shoot. Selecting this photo was done exclusively so that the panel of judges could make fun of her with the cameras rolling. I've heard it directly from one of the people on that panel that Tyra was threatened by Fatima's beauty and was looking for ways to make her look bad on the show.

Fun fact: Fatima is one of the few contestants that got an actual career in the real fashion industry and she is still working 12+ years after the season aired (and still looks like a baby Iman) Edit: It takes less than 5 minutes to clone stamp some goddamn stubble 🙃

I used to be a stylist and model, stylists ALWAYS carry razors in our stylist kits just in case models need to quickly shave. In the real world, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal.

Imagine touching up a picture for judging but leaving someone’s arm hair so the judges can whine about it for 5 whole minutes.

If any of the girls complained about the paint, Tyra would’ve been like “ I did a shoot with paint coming out of my eyeballs. Ears, and I had to drink a gallon of paint and threw up a rainbow- and it got the cover of Vogue magazine

I know it's not the focus of this video but during this cycle I was always SO angry at the judges' refusal to learn how to pronounce Katarzyna's name. Like, it was super rude and offensive and just rubbed me the wrong way. Especially when they'd call her things that weren't even remotely her name

Cycle 10 had easily some of the most high fashion models ever cast on the show. In my opinion, Anya, Fatima, Katarzyna, Aimee and Claire did not even need to come to a reality show. They could have easily walked into IMG or some other major agency and get signed.

I watched this cycle back in the day, what happened with Marvita was that the makeover they gave her was like a mohawk with a long ponytail extension and in that episode she had no clue on how to style it so she was feeling defeated about it, the issue I think most of the times on this show was that they gave the models makeovers and no training on how to style themselves. Some are naturally good at it but no everyone knows how to do that kind of hair.

Fatima was 100% thrown under the bus about the armpit hair. As you said, it's not that serious. If it had been that important for her to have a clean shaven armpit, they would have asked her to shave it at the shoot when they were getting her ready, or just use a picture without her armpit. They clearly just wanted to create an issue where there was no real issue to be had. This was on the show, not on Fatima.

Context of what happened (IIRC) Marvita was feeling really insecure and had an inferiority complex, at one point in the episode she got drunk and in her confessional she said, “Maybe I’m just too ghetto for all of this.” (I think) and my heart was crying for her because I know what it’s like to come from the hood and to be thrown into luxury, even if it’s for a couple of moments or surrounded by people with emerald lined pockets, it’s extremely uncomfortable and quite honestly a culture shock, so I can definitely understand her feelings of inferiority as a person of color.

Model: I don’t shave it’s just my personal choice Tyra: you know it’s kind of disrespectful to come here before me and say something like that. When I did Elle Antarctica they didn’t even give me a razor; I had to break a mirror and shave with a shard of glass. That mirror was way less than the thousands of dollars in clone stamping tool in photoshop. In this industry you’re going to have clients that take this personally and you won’t book jobs…. Thank you.

I actually love how nowadays models with unique things got a chance to shine, and back then you needed to be perfect and even natural things like hair was already the biggest problem.

Out of all the photos Fatima took did they really need to choose that one? They clearly did it purposely to humiliate her on panel. Why? I still think her hair wasn’t THAT noticeable on the photo for them to make such a big deal out of it. As for Marvita, she was just upset over her makeover. Too bad she let that affect her photoshoot and have her sent home

"I wouldn't shave one armpit for you guys" lmfao 🤣 my same thoughts.

"thats a months worth!" my under arms look like that after 3 days PLEASE

I sometimes wonder why I have such an issue with my body being, well, a body. Then I see shows like this that I was obsessed with growing up, and watch them with my adult eyes…And its no longer a mystery.

"Which is worse being negative or eating a donut? That's right I'm gonna eat my donut." 😂 I loved that. And I'm gonna tell that to the next person who judges what I eat.

Telling someone who’s been homeless that they look like a sad orphan? They’re just trying to get a reaction. I’m not sure but I think Marvita also mentioned going through the foster care system.

"My face is my best feature" is my new favourite sentence I love it.

I had commented for you to react to this episode. That line "Shaving is $1, retouching is like $1000" stood with me ever since. I was a lot younger and didn't know anything about retouching, but the fact that retouching that was too expensive just didn't make any sense, since it was obvious that they always retouched the photos. Also thought "why did they choose that photo?" But I think that, if you watched this series, it became really obvious that the judges were constantly not selecting the best photo, but the one that supported some storyline.

It’s sad because Fatima has gone through so much in her life. According to her Wiki page, she underwent female genital mutilation as a child, lost 2 sisters, and was a refugee from Somalia. The rudeness of the panel is crazy given all that hardship. Add: I couldn’t even see the hair lol

"Do you know how cheap a razor is" Sir, they are not that cheap. 😭

I mean, the whole concept of the photo shoot was "stripping away all the crazy elements of the industry" (whatever that means) I don't see how unshaven armpits can't fall into that concept.... If anything it should make the picture better!

Body! Hair! Is! Natural! I hate hate HATE society's obsession with adult female bodies being devoid of any hair below the chin -- and what's above that better not be too much in the "wrong" places. Leg hair is natural! Arm hair is natural! Armpit hair is natural! There's nothing "dirty" about it being there! Shower, wear deodorant/antiperspirant, and you're good to go. No one is saying that men are gross or dirty for not shaving their armpits/legs/other areas.

Honestly seeing a model with body hair when I was younger would have helped me to see that it is completely normal to have it

I hated the comments they’d make about Fatima “overthinking” things and then they’d give her more things to over think? She was, in my opinion, by FAR the most gorgeous model I’ve ever seen on ANTM

A doctor once told me shaving body hair is actually quite unhygenic and harmful, especially down there (trimming is fine). Which makes sense since the hair is there for a reason lol. Shaving armpits isn't AS harmful but still stupid. When I read more into this it seemed even more ridiculous to shave than it already did before. But still, I needed YEARS to actually stop shaving bc as a teenager I was surrounded by media like this and there is still almost no movie or show with women in their natural normal state. The more you think about it the more weird it all seems. I get why most women shave even when they know all this. It's just societally so expected of us and hammered into our heads. So I don't blame women who shave at all. But I do blame media like this for making us feel like its natural to not be our natural self

Imagine shaming someone for their natural hair that grows on their body.

“Retouching an armpit is like a thousand” is it tho??? How does that make sense?! 🙄🙄 smh 16:26-16:48 your comedy skills are gold, Jess. I genuinely burst out laughing every time. 😂😂

"Could be her personality" yes. I'm an introvert and I tend to be a listener more so than a bubbly talker in meetings/interviews. And I've gotten feedback that I don't seem enthusiastic or come across as aloof or snobby. I'm just like no I'm a hard worker and definitely not snobby. I just just a quiet person with a poker face. Lol

The thing that bothers me about the shaving is that it’s also a cultural thing. Some ladies just don’t shave in some cultures or see it as important or don’t view body hair as “gross” or whatever.

Fatima got the last laugh with a great modeling career.

It INFURIATES me to hear people claim unshaven armpits are "unhygienic" or "unhealthy." Then why is it considered hygienic for men?? They serve the same purpose, it's not only natural but functional, and in no way does it equate to "not taking care of herself." She doesn't shave, fine. "It's so expensive to retouch armpit hair" ok then leave it in? I know this was a long time ago, but the basic logic of "this thing is natural and healthy on men but the exact same thing on a woman is unclean and unhealthy" makes zero sense. Screw the 1930-40s razor companies for convincing women it's gross to have body hair. "Oh no, the men are off to war, guess it's time to gaslight an entire gender into believing their bodies are inherently disgusting so they'll buy our razors."

What armpit hair? It's barely visible!

I think marvita was struggling with things before she came to Top Model. Top Model did not help her confidence, or give her any kind of life-affirming knowledge (like Tyra loves to claim that she can do), it pretty well just tore her down and made her see the fake side of everything. I think she felt really defeated and just kind of confused, I understand why she just gave up...

If I remember correctly from the Oliver Twixt interview, Marvita was 110% done with all the nonsense going on during the show at the time.

Based on what I’ve heard about the show, marvita was probably subjected to intense psychological conditions that were bordering on abusive and torturous. Did you know that before coming on the show they lock all the models who made it in separate hotel rooms for a WEEK? They literally aren’t allowed to leave and are bullied by the production team who tells them if they want it bad enough they’ll make it through. They take their phones, they have no access to internet, they cannot contact any friends or family and they cannot see other people. All their meals are brought to them. They make them do this for a week to “prepare” them for the show and apparently to ensure they don’t say anything which seems extreme considering there’s nothing to say other than “I made it, filming starts soon.” Once they’re on set they literally cannot talk to each other unless they have cameras rolling so all their downtime is complete silence if no one is filming. They also cannot use their phones at any point during the show and being caught with one is automatic disqualification. The models got paid roughly $40 a DAY, often working 16 hour days and they had to pay for their own food. The show was insanely abusive and more than cult-like. Tyra is a manipulative, washed up female predator who made her living mocking and harming vulnerable individuals under the guise of high fashion and day time television. I believe she truly is chaotic evil but is too un-self aware and socially deluded to realize what an absolute monster she is. Keep exposing this horrific franchise for glamorizing abuse culture so we never repeat something like this show ever again.

I'm always excited when you react to beauty shots. They're probably like the closest thing to put in a portfolio.

omg. Miss Jay's jacket. I completely forgot about this piece of iconic ANTM history.

People shouldn't be shamed for their armpit hair. If they prefer it that way, then let them be. They get to have their own say.

It is wild how they don't even know they how they are bullying Fatima. Just say "Hey, we noticed some armpit hair. Remember to shave before a shoot." Just joke after joke after joke ganging up on her.

I'd like to see you critique the 2nd season of Canadian Top Model when Jay Manuel was the judge. The show was just as drama-focused but Jay seemed like a different person

This was one of the best photoshoots in ANTM history.

I feel so bad for her I hated how the judges humiliated her for not shaving .

From what I remember, I think Marvita had good, confident energy in the beginning and then she kept getting bad feedback and she unfortunately let it defeat her. I will say, even though we know how Jay is in general, she really needed sympathetic Jay, not aggressive Jay. It just made her feel worse. :/

Considering how much they constantly retouch (even I as an amatour can take nice selfies of myself with zero retouching and I'm older than all those girls), no way it's too hard and expensive to retouch little bit of natural armpit hair.

They could have done something about her armpit hair during the shoot if it was seriously an issue. But honestly, she could have an adverse reaction to shaving if she never does it, especially with a cheap razor which would have made touching it up even more annoying.

I think they made the hair a way bigger deal than they needed to and definitely chose that photo intentionally. But speaking from a professional standpoint, I understand why she would be expected to be clean shaven. I worked as a MUA on a male fashion shoot once and the model came in with a beard, but he was chosen because all his headshots from his agency showed he was clean shaven. They had him shave right then and there and it ended up pushing the schedule back, he also ended up nicking himself with the razor and it would not stop bleeding. We had to continuously stop the shoot so he could dap the blood every so often. When it did stop, I couldn’t cover it well, because I can’t contaminate my materials with blood borne pathogens. It was overall a huge hassle for everyone involved. So I think if a model is expected to look a certain way for a professional shoot, they should show up that way. But ANTM definitely shouldn’t have treated Fatima that way and try to embarrass her like that.

I don't know what Vendela's issue was. Maybe because Whitney looks too much like her. But to be upset because she did a split??? Everyone at that place was acting crazy and having fun and she won a point for her team, so that was unnecessary. Where the other girls' critiques?

shoutout to squarespace for being such a consistent sponsor lol

The problem is that women aren't different than men. We both grow body hair. Why should she shave?

I think Marvita was just having a bad day like everyone does. It was weird, but I've seen worse. I think Marvita was just confused with herself and her performance.

I’m a big advocate for body hair positivity and questioning why shaving is needed in the beauty industry, it would have been refreshing to see them going against the norm of shaving for this photoshoot rather than reinforcing this beauty standard. Even if body hair would oppose in the aesthetic of this photoshoot, the critique that was given to the model seemed misplaced to me. Why did they purposefully choose a photo with her (barely visible) armpit hair showing if that would end up posing so many problems, when that could have been easily avoidable, it seems like a set up to me. And these girls are not real models yet, if shaving is a norm in the modeling industry, then let them know beforehand, getting upset at someone who didn’t know any better seems pointless to me

Marvitas picture is actually my favorite yes she looks sad but it’s beautiful like if I saw this is a magazine I would stop and look at it

What disgusted me about this, is that the judges are assuming someone is dirty and doesn't take care of themselves because they didn't shave. It's not that big of a deal. It does not matter. It's a personal decision and does not mean the person is dirty and such. And in some places it's a cultural thing and is completely normal not to shave. Judges should be ashamed of themselves

Fatima and Anya were two of the best models they ever had. Cycle 10 was so damn toxic though. So bad. If the judges were mad at Fatima’s armpit hair, I’m glad they never saw me during lockdowns. I was a hot, very hairy mess.

Hey Jessica, Would love if you could react to some of other favourite shoots from ANTM- Cycle 3 Covergirl Shoot (Japan) Cycle 6 Covergirl Shoot (Thailand) Cycle 16 Market Shoot, Trya's shoot with the Final 3 Models, Shoot with Male Model & Covergirl Shoot (All in Morocco).

Shaving body hair is a personal choice. People need to stop freaking out about it. It's not any more "disgusting" than any other hair on your body. If you want a model to be shaved for a shoot, that's on you to communicate. You're telling me that there was no razors with the hair/makeup/styling teams? Nah.

thankyou for finally reacting to this. it always struck me the wrong way. hair is more hygienic than creating microabrasions on your skin from shaving. the judges were ignorant

It looked like they retouched everything in Fatima's picture except the armpit, just so it stands out more.

Omg I’ve been in the comments requesting this episode for a while, my impact 😭😭 Also idk, I actually really loved Marvita’s photo! I think the bored look works here lmao

Here's my question....from what I understand, TYRA, HERSELF, chooses the final photos for each of the girls to show in judging and I think each girl gets like 50 frames, give or take, in their photoshoots. So if that was so, and Tyra didn't like THIS photo, in particular, WHY THEN didn't she choose a better photo for this model? It almost seems like she DELIBERATELY chose this photo to humiliate her, when she could have EASILY cropped it in a little bit and hidden the offensive arm hair. And honestly, I am not surprised Marvita went home this time. I agree with you...she looked absolutely defeated, sad, had no enthusiasm for the photoshoot. Her photo looked like "I just want to go home."

At first when they said to Whitney "It's a little too jewelry" I was like alright. But then seeing the rest of the models coming out with jewelry and such, it did seem like jewelry would be the thing they'd be trying to sell in that situation if it were an actual photoshoot so I don't get what the big deal was. And agreed about the splits thing. Like the judge gets so offended by her doing the splits, but Whitney explains "oh I was just trying to mimic the people and do what they were doing".....yet that somehow is the thing the offended judge saw in her that was good? Like what? How are you both offended but also praising it at the same time? And don't even get me started on the three armpit hairs they couldn't stop focusing on. So much confusion on this episode

On a side note: your hair and everything look amazing, you’re so beautiful, Jessica! 💜

Jessica, you were ON in this video - I was laughing out loud to the point my kids kept asking me what I was watching 🤣

30 seconds in and mr. jay is already quick to come with the shade lmao

I think that models should have the right to not alter their appearance if they don't want to...and I feel that includes body hair...I know quite a few women who choose a more natural approach and don't shave their armpits....we naturally have hair there so it should not be a huge deal if someone chooses not to shave their armpits. With technology we have today it can easily be edited out or choose a different pose.

i wish i saw more models and people in the media with body hair, that would definitely have made me more confident as a young girl who didn’t want to shave

Jessica, can you please start putting the season and episode in the description or something?

It might be the hill I'll die on, but I will stand by Katarzyna! Great model, beautiful pictures. Mistreated AF.

After this season aired, there was a story about Whitney being recruited and that she was specifically asked to gain weight so she could cast as a plus-sized model. If that story is true, I can understand why she is a little body conscious bc this isn't really the body she is used to.

I don’t shave due to a medical condition. We never know what is going on underneath a person’s outer appearance, “a $1 razor vs $1000 to retouch,” it doesn’t cost anything to be kind.

Jess! Please do a creative photoshop like this - inspiration from ANTM and trying to recreate it / make it better. We all would love to see that!!

"a razor is like a dollar" excuse me tyra where are u shopping

The judges and their obsession with controlling the models' hair (both on their head and anywhere else!) is so unreal. Like back in Cycle 1 where all the girls were forced to get bikini waxes ON CAMERA! including the girls who were still teenagers!!! It's so weird and says more about them than the models themselves.

It does show that being beautiful isnt enough; you need to have a firey passion for doing what you do. That translates into any vocational profession. Love u Jess xxx

At the end of the day, if they require clean-shaven pits for a shoot or even if it was for the show in general it should have been clearly stated before and not said afterwards to shame people

i'm not involved in photography at ALL so this is my extremely uneducated opinion if it was a big deal, i feel like on a production that big, surely SOMEONE had a clean razor. the photographer, makeup artists, stylists, whoever, someone would've noticed and looked for one. and i doubt her only good photo was one showing her armpit, lol

“Nigel, let’s see your armpit. Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Haha I loved that. So true. Apparently they don’t want to be reminded that women are mammals just like men.

Oh my gosh I’ve been waiting for someone to talk about this! I remember watching this in high school and disagreeing with them soo much. She is classy with it! She’s gorgeous

Mr Jay: "I wanna put that on a cover." Also Mr Jay: "Wipe your feet after!"

You are the only channel that I watch reaction videos. In general these kind of videos are not my interest but your videos are on another level and you are so lovely 🥰🥰🥰

Thanks for uploading this I love your reaction videos !!!!!

I’m glad you did this episode this photoshoot was really well done :)

I always enjoy watching your comments on ANTM, and I really liked the necklace you wore in this video!

Amazing vid!!

Dominique rocked this shoot. She was SO gorgeous. Robbed for FCO imo.

Idk everytime I see or read about armpits, makes me crawl laughing 🤣 i feel bad for laughing. Your comments on the video makes it even funnier 💀😂

Fatima did say she doesn't shave, and apologized for it. Let's cause more drama...

“What’s worse, me eating a donut or you being negative?” -Jessica Kobeissi, 2022 😂 Love you so much in these videos! (4:57)

Jessica your hair looked on point in this vid!

During Marvita's makeover, they gave her a glorified mullet. She was pissed and rightfully so because that hair was a wreck lol

Sophia Loren never shaved her armpit hair and refused to when they tried to force her. She was a world renowned actress

He really tried to psyche out Dominique and she wasn’t having it! That’s how you gotta handle people like jay who try and screw with you and be fake saying it’s constructive criticism. Al’s when it came to marvita she was done from the beginning when jay came over messing with her and then she had to work with him as well and get some more annoyance. Jay also doesn’t help at all when seeing even a hint of vulnerability in a model . He just amps it up to make sure he gets his check and it’s annoying he’s acing like he’s the victim in it all.

I think the reason they did things like messing up makeovers or making a huge fuss out of something ridiculous was to stir up as much drama as they could. Just like when they would do photo shoots involving something dangerous (wild animals, underwater shoots, etc.) and it "just so happened" that at least one of the models had a deep-rooted fear of whatever they were doing. They would blatantly disregard the models' feelings and, in a lot of cases, their safety. All for the ratings.

As a normal person, you can do whatever you want, shave or don’t. As a working model, you need to shave. I work in the industry, and it is a pain in the butt to retouch 100s of photos of the same issue, that would have been unnecessary if the model had come to the shoot prepared. Now, I will say, there is generally a brief to the models beforehand to come clean, shaved, without nail polish, and clipped nails. Maybe Fatima didn’t get that brief at ANTM, as we know they do NOT follow industry standards.

I'm so confused about them bitching about retouching. I have never had a photoshoot where I wasn't retouched. And I don't think I've ever seen an ad that wasn't retouched. It's very rare that anyone uses unretouched photos. They're just looking for anything to shame these girls for. "Omg, is that HAIR?!" 🙄

I’m so tired of people talking about shaving as though it is the easiest thing in the world. I have such trauma from shaving that even the thought of it makes me feel anxious. My skin is extremely sensitive, but my body hair once shaved becomes prickly and coarse. A TERRIBLE combination for shaving. Shaving was nothing but razor burn and cuts, blood running down my legs, my skin stinging with irritation, and for what? Horrible results. My legs looked awful either way and I felt so embarrassed and my skin was so painful to the touch. UGH Luckily, I have discovered sugaring, so I no longer have to touch razors. And I know most everyone can shave without issue. But shaming someone for not shaving is horrendous. You have no idea why a person makes a personal hygiene choice. And they literally have a habit of retouching photos to death on this show. They absolutely left her armpit untouched to shame her. I almost didn’t watch this reaction video because talking about shaving, as I said, gives me mild anxiety to this day. But I’m glad I did because I love seeing how supportive everyone is in the comments. And, Jessica, I am absolutely going to remember, “I wouldn’t shave even one armpit for you guys.” Thank you for that. 😂❤❤

Lo “what is it? Can it be?” Jessica 😂❤